Songs That Brought People Out of Comas

Do your friends and family know your favorite tunes? It’s more than just a quiz to see who knows you best—someday, it could save your life. Doctors often recommend that people visiting coma victims play music that has special meaning to them. This is known as a “salient stimulus,” something that is familiar and emotionally important. Stimuli like these are so powerful they can even rouse coma victims from their deep slumbers. Here are 11 songs that have done the trick.

1. THE SONG: ADELE’S “ROLLING IN THE DEEP.”

The Story: Last April, 7-year-old Charlotte Neve had a rare brain hemorrhage and ended up in a coma that doctors said she might not come out of. Charlotte’s mom was preparing for the worst when the 2012 Grammy “Song of the Year” came on the radio while she was visiting her daughter. Since it was a song that both mother and daughter enjoyed, Charlotte’s mom began singing along. To her amazement, Charlotte smiled. It was the first reaction she had had to anything since falling into the coma. Two days later, she was talking and getting out of bed.

2. THE SONG: JAMES BLUNT’S “YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL.”

The Story: Five-year-old Claudia Dealwis’ parents were devastated when she fell off of a friend’s balcony, fracturing her skull and falling into a coma. She had been in the coma for 10 days with no signs of improvement when “You’re Beautiful,” one of Claudia’s favorite songs, came on over the hospital radio. “When it came on the hospital radio we could just see her starting to move a bit and we knew she was beginning to wake up,” her father said. “When she opened her eyes and acknowledged us we were so relieved. Every little movement was like a massive step.”

3. THE SONG: THE MACK & MABEL SOUNDTRACK

The Story: John Flynn, a London-based marketing executive, had three heart bypass operations in less than 24 hours last summer. Shortly thereafter, he fell into a coma as a result of severe internal bleeding. He had been unresponsive for six days—until one of his sons started playing music for his father from his iPod. When they settled on Mack & Mabel, a musical about old Hollywood, Flynn started “tap dancing on the end of the bed.”

Flynn, who happens to invest in West End productions, later received the opportunity to invest in the off-West End “Mack & Mabel.” While he doesn’t usually put money into off-West End shows, he made an exception this time.

4. THE SONG: GREEN DAY’S “AMERICAN IDIOT”

The Story: Corey George was a huge Green Day fan in 2005. (Join the club, buddy.) He was hit by a car on his ninth birthday and was unconscious for two weeks afterward, clinging to life via a life support machine. Then his mother got the idea to play him his favorite album—American Idiot. Corey had opened his eyes and was wiggling his fingers and toes less than an hour later.